GOMA, Congo — GOMA, Congo (AP) — Rwanda-backed rebels captured a key eastern Congo city a month ago Friday. Residents in Goma, which was once a critical trade and humanitarian hub, say they are struggling on various fronts even as the rebels try to consolidate their administration and restart normal life.
On the streets of Goma, which is close to the border with Rwanda, economic activities have largely slowed down since the M23 rebels took over on Jan. 28. Banks are still shut, basic services such as trade are slowly restarting and thousands displaced by the conflict are desperate for aid and temporary shelters.
“Finding food has become a real challenge,” said Jeannette Safari, her face marked by exhaustion and fear.
The 26-year-old mother of one is now making plans to flee to Burundi. Safari had been working as a civil servant, but with government offices still not running, making ends meet has been a struggle for thousands of government workers like her living where the M23 controls, she said.
“Life is cheaper there (in Burundi), and even though I don’t know exactly how I’ll manage, I’ll make do,” she said.
The city and its environs had hosted more than 500,000 displaced people in addition to its population of 2 million, before the M23 rebels seized it last month in a major escalation of their yearslong fighting with government forces in the central African nation.
With the support of around 4,000 troops from Rwanda, the rebels fought off overstretched and outnumbered Congolese forces — many of whom surrendered — and started to gain more territories, taking Bukavu, a second major city in the region. The expansion is unprecedented, unlike in 2012 when M23 captured Goma for days, and has raised the risks of regional warfare, analysts sa